FRIENDSHIPS have formed between primary school kids and elderly people after a pen pal scheme was held to tackle loneliness.

Year six pupils from Goddard Park Community Primary School wrote stories about sitting SATs exams and their favourite hobbies to elderly people who shared distant memories of World War Two.

The scheme was set up by the council’s Community Health and Wellbeing Team in May as a way to tackle loneliness and isolation among older people across Swindon.

Coun Brian Ford, Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for adults, said: “You can really feel the warmth and care coming through when you read these letters, which shows what a meaningful and successful project this has been.

“It’s lovely to see the bonds which have grown between these different generations and I’d like to thank the Wyvern Theatre and Zurich for helping us to host this tea party, giving those involved the chance to meet their pen pals face to face.”

Marie Barrett, community researcher at Swindon Borough Council, said: “This project is something that I’d seen work in another part of the country and decided to replicate it.

“As a team, we’ve found that over the Christmas period, there’s lots of activities for isolated people to attend and generally people want to reach out and help others. However, the rest of the year these people can feel more isolated.

“We wanted to find a way to create meaningful connections for people throughout the year to help their health and wellbeing and combat feelings of loneliness, and I think this project has been successful in doing just that.”